Centre for Global Development Report

September 2015- June 2016

The purpose/objectives/goals of the Centre/Institute

The Centre's vision is to work collaboratively and extend the practice of community

development beyond the Fraser Valley region into the global context. To this end, the CGD

promotes and encourages research and programs on sustainable human and community

development in order to facilitate positive change.

In concert with Canada’s development priorities, the United Nations Sustainable Development

Goals, and international human rights standards, the Centre focuses on these key areas:

1. Good governance, peace, justice and strong institutions

2. Children and development

3. Environmental sustainability

4. Education and Training

5. Food Security

Membership and governance of the Centre

The Centre for Global Development is managed by the lead associate and the management

committee comprised of one associate of the CGD and an external member which provides

oversight to ensure transparency and accountability. The lead associate is appointed by the AVP

Research, Engagement and Graduate Studies. The management committee provides advice and

guidance on the CGD’s activities, programs, strategic planning and plans for seeking funding for

research activities. Associates of the CGD are UFV faculty and staff who are committed to

teaching and research in the area of development in both the local and global contexts.

Lead Associate: Prof. Edward Akuffo

Associates: Prof. Garry Fehr, Prof. Satwinder Bains, Prof. Yvon Dandurand, Prof. Cherie Enns,

Prof. Ding Lu, Prof. Hayli Millar, Prof. Stephen Piper, Prof. Gayle Ramsden, Mr. John Potts

Management Committee: Prof. Edward Akuffo, Prof. Stephen Piper, Prof. Steven Schroeder

Significant partnerships

Centre for Indo Canadian Studies (UFV)

Centre for Rural Research and Industrial Development ( India)

Panjab University (India)

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (Ottawa)

Centre for Criminal Law and Criminology

The World Scout Bureau – African Regional Office (Kenya)

Institute of Human Settlements at Ardhi University (Tanzania)

Developing Indigenous Resources (India)

Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (Delhi-Calgary)

Radford University College (Ghana)

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Kenya)

Sri Lanka Centre for Development Facilitation (Sri Lanka)

University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka)

UFV International Development Student Club

Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (China)

East Asian Institute (Singapore)

Aga Khan University – East Africa Institute (Nairobi)

UFV Geography/GDS, Ardhi Regional University (Tanzania) and Aga Khan

University East Africa Institute (AKU) (Internship Program) with funding by QES,

Universities Canada.

Photo: UFV’s Lisa Harrington and Jeremy Wagner posing with 9 other QES

Scholars and the Right Honourable David Johnston, Her Excellency Sharon

Johnston, former Prime Minister Mr. Jean Chretien, and Mrs. Aline Chretien.

Students Participation

QES (Universities Canada) funded GDS/Geog Internships this past year included eight (8)

completed research internships in East Africa related to food systems with an additional five (5)

currently in Tanzania. The partners for this program include Ardhi Regional University (ARU)

and Aga Khan University (AKU).

Six (6) students were also funded related to internship placements/work study at UFV and at

AKU through the grant related to food systems. This funding is from Global Affairs Canada and

in collaboration with AKU.

Multiple students: Cities and Food Conference (Spring 2015/2016) and Global Goals Event (Fall

2015). Students provided primary research data, analysis and played a large role in hosting the

event. This event was funded by QES program and a grant from Global Affairs Canada in

collaboration with AKU.

http://events.ufv.ca/events/sustainable-food-systems-workshop/

http://events.ufv.ca/events/sustainable-food-systems-workshop/

http://events.ufv.ca/events/2030-sustainable-development-goals/

Geography 464 class: Urban planning students spruce up the green (UFV campus green space

planning)

http://ufvcascade.ca/2016/06/13/%EF%BF%BCurban-planning-students-spruce-up-the-green/

http://www.ufv.ca/campusplanning/

There were several local internships with government, NGOs including Run for Water and

Amnesty.

Relevance of activities to the community

December 2015: The CGD hosted a symposium on climate change to discuss the 2015

Paris Climate Change Conference, COP21. The event was widely publicized and was

attended by faculty, students, staff and the general public. Prof. Edward Akuffo, Prof.

Garry Fehr, Dr. Lionel Pandolfo (UFV Geography Department), Mr. Patrick Harrison

(UFV Biology Department) made presentations and Prof. Gayle Ramden chaired the

event.

Global Goals Event and Cities and Food Conference – Facilitated by C. Enns and G. Fehr

and hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley’s Agriculture Centre of Excellence

(ACE). Both events brought together a consortium of academics, industry professionals,

government officials, NGOs, funders, partners, and students to discuss urban agriculture.

The conference was open to the public and addressed food shortages in urban centres in

Kenya and other East African cities. Edward Akuffo and Yvon Dandurand made

presentations in the Global Goals event.

The partnership with UN Habitat - E‐Learning programme initiated by C. Enns with

student internship participants is on-going. Funding for this past year came from

Samsung Korea. This is the newest addition to the Training and Capacity Building

Module of the Urban Youth Fund. It has been developed for youth aged 15‐35 years

living in developing countries who have taken part in the Urban Youth Fund programme.

The programme seeks to integrate the mobile technology, internet‐based curriculum and

applied empirical learning to provide a dynamic learning opportunity for youth in the

developing world. UN-Habitat partnered with Canadian University of Fraser Valley to

provide custom courses in the area of sustainable development, social enterprise and

community planning. This year we added the ‘Seed to Market’ Urban Agriculture

course. Over 3000 students have participated.

Just Communities and the Migrant: A Sustainable Response (presented paper in the

International Making Cities Livable conference in Rome, Spring 2016). In the context of

recent mass migrations of people due to conflict, climate change related events or other

challenges such as economic disparity, there is a reinforced need for more sustainable

global policy response at both the source country and in communities where migrants are

received. The paper and presentation works through case studies and innovative

approaches are explained to help create resiliency for both receiving and source

communities with the goal for more just and sustainable for all.

June 2016: In collaboration with the Department of Political Science and the College of

Arts, CGD hosted the Politalk Round Table on the Brexit Vote on June 27, 2016.

Although it was done at a short notice, the event was hailed as a success with fifteen

people attending including two from the community. A follow up round table is planned

for the fall semester 2016.

Funding received

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship

Photo: Lisa Harrington- Winter 2016 Intern

Research completed during the reporting period

Prof. Edward Akuffo completed the writing of a journal article and a book chapter which would

be published by fall 2016

The following were completed by Prof. Cherie Enns

UFV UDistrict - Concept Plan –Draft Completed

Vancouver Island University – Geography Program Review

Rights Based Community Planning with and for Vulnerable a (Doctoral Degree

Thesis on-going)

Impact of the current housing market on rental housing supply in Metro Vancouver

and the Fraser Valley

Food security in international urban centres (especially East Africa)

Effective urban planning with migration due to conflict and climate change

International child friendly planning and development policy

Addressing homelessness in the Fraser Valley, with the Fraser Valley Regional

District and City of Abbotsford

Publications

Peer Reviewed

Akuffo, E. A. (2016). Africa's Geopolitical Space and Canada's Multilateral Security

Strategy: The Chrétien and Harper Eras, in Robert W. Murray (ed.) Seeking Order in

Anarchy: Multilateralism as State Strategy Edmonton: University of Alberta Press

(forthcoming)

Akuffo, E. A. (2016). On Terrorism and Mali Conflict: A Neo-Gramscian Interpretation.

Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Special Issue (Invited, forthcoming)

Non-Refereed

Enns, C. (2015) Consultation with Children in East Africa: Messages from Children

Effected by Emergencies, Save the Children and Unicef.

http://www.unicef.org/somalia/SOM_resources_consultationchildreneastafrica.pdf

Enns, C (2016)Just Communities and the Migrant: A Sustainable Response (presented

paper in the International Making Cities Livable conference in Rome, 2016. Paper to be

included in conference proceedings.

Enns, C (2016) Reports for UN Habitat, QES Internship Program, and Food Systems

Project were all completed. All reports included a student peer reviewed article in the

Undercurrent Journal related to food systems, video on urban farming and other reports

related to Food Systems project can be found at this site

https://ufveastafricainternships.com/database/

Presentations

June 2016: Roundtable participant: Canada and Africa Sixty Years after Suez. Canadian

Political Science Association Annual Conference. University of Calgary, Alberta ( May

31- June 2, 2016)

April 2016: The question of Political Agency and the Governance of Terrorism in West

Africa. 2nd Annual Symposium of the West Africa Peace and Security Network, held at the

Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Accra, Ghana on April 28-30,

2016

March 2016: The Politics of AU-NATO Relations in Light of the Libya Intervention.

International Studies Association Convention, Atlanta, USA. (March 16-19, 2016)

Fehr, G. 2015. Sustainable Food Systems and Development. 2030 Sustainable

Development Goals Forum. University of the Fraser Valley. October 13, 2015.

Fehr, G. 2015. Agriculture and Climate Change. Global Development Symposium on

Climate Change. University of the Fraser Valley. December 7, 2015

Plans for the coming year

Associates of the institute will be strongly encouraged to generate several research proposals and

expand the scope of the Institute’s activities. Potential external funding agencies include SSHRC,

IDRC and other local sources.

The activities that have been planned include but not limited to the following:

Prof. Edward Akuffo will be applying for SSHRC Insight Grants in October 2016.

Akuffo’s research focuses on Canada’s bilateral and multilateral security strategy on the

Africa.

Politalk Round Table in the fall 2016

Public Forum on the Urban Agenda of the UN Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador

in October 2016. This will be done in collaboration with the School of Criminology.

Space for ALL Children: Nairobi Pilot Concept Project - Opportunity for EAI to Effect

Change for Children through Planning and Development Control Policy. Through: Photo

Project / Pilot Place Improvement, Public Spaces Policy, Development Control Policy

and Child Charter Drafting.

The continuation with the QES Food Systems research and internship program is to

include 4 East African students being funded to spend 3 moths at UFV.

UN Habitate E-Learning Program is also on-going.